AT&T Stock Dips On Reports Trump Still Opposes Time Warner Deal

The Justice Department, which is also reviewing the deal, is seen as less harsh than the FCC.

AT&T Inc said on Friday it expects to bypass a powerful telecommunications regulator in its planned $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc (TWX.N).

AT&T will likely circumvent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversight in its attempted purchase of Time Warner, according to an SEC filing released Friday.

As of January 4, stockholders Time Warner common stock would be worth $109.35 per share, which is a combination of $53.75 in cash, plus a number of AT&T common stock shares, with Time Warner shareholders holding about %15% of AT&T common stock. The FCC's decision effectively can't be challenged in court, while an antitrust review always must meet a court's legal test, Schettenhelm said. "Time Warner has conducted a review of all licenses that it holds that are granted by the FCC", AT&T said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. As we reported in October, Time Warner-owned programmers such as HBO, CNN, and Turner Broadcasting System have dozens of FCC licenses that let them upload video to satellites used by pay-TV companies.

If licenses have to be transferred to AT&T, it would trigger a review by the agency, which can send deals into a lengthy public hearing process, essentially killing them through delay.

Donald Trump said during the election that he opposes the AT&T- Time Warner merger, but the market clearly didn't believe him.

It remains unclear whether Trump would try to influence the regulatory review of the merger, either by pushing officials to impose conditions or to block the deal entirely.